Aeroplane



March 16 1926.

E. F. MERRITT AEROPLANFJ- Filed Dec.

III

WITNESSES Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EWARD FRANK MERRITT, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF T FRANK L. MEBRITT, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

. AEROPLANE.

Application filed December 5, 1923., Serial No. 678,765.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD F. Mnnnrr'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Boston, in the county of Sufl'olk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Aeroplane, of which the following is a specification.

This invention appertains to aeronautics and more particularly to aeroplanes. The primary object of the present invention is the provision of a novel aeroplane, so constructed that the same can be rendered buoyant or lighter than air in case of trouble, such as engine and propeller difiiculties.

Another prime object of the invention is the provision of novel wings for an aeroplane, which can act as containers for lighter than air gas, such as helium, thereby ren- 3 dering the aeroplane buoyant to eliminate dangers in aerial navigation and to permit the landing of. the aeroplane in a restricted area.

, A further object of the invention is the provision of an' aeroplane embodying a fuselage and laterally extending wings of a box-like and airtight construction, the body having associated therewith a tank for containing a lighter than air gas in a com-' 80 pressed form, and means for connecting the tank with the hollow wings, whereby the said wings can be filled with the gas from the tank when so desired or necessary.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved aeroplane of the above character, which will be durable and efficient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture and one which can be placed upon the market at a reasonable cost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more s ecifically described, claimed and illustrate in the accompanying drawings, in which drawingsi Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved aeroplane.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through one of the wings taker'i'on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a transverse section through one of the wings of the aeroplane.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts thoughout the seveal views, the letter A enerally indicates an aeroplane constructed 1n accordance with this invention, which can be of any preferred type or construction. As shown the aeroplane A comprises a fuselage 5 of conventional type having depending therefrom the usual landing gear 6. The forward end of the fuselage 5 is provided with a tractor propeller 7 which can be driven from any desired type of engine contained in the fuselage 5. The rear end of the fusela e. 5

is provided with the desired type of ru der 8 and empennage 9.

Extending laterally from the fuselage 5 are the novel Wings 10 which form the vital part of the present invention.

As clearly shown in Figures 2 and 4, the

wings 10 are of a hollow box-like configuration and embody to and bottom walls '11 and 12 and inner an outer walls 13 and .14. The Walls can be braced in any desired manner internally, as indicated by thereference character 15. It is of course essential in forming the wings that the same be made airtight, in order that the wings can act as containers for a lighter than air gas. If so desired, the marginal edges of the wings can be inclined as at 16, so as to form a leading inclined surface.

Arranged within the fuselage 5 is a relatively large tank 17 for receiving he lighter than air gas, such as helium or the like and this gas is adapted to be in a compressed state. The tank 1'7 is rovided with a suit able outlet 18, which as connectedthereto the 'gas feed pipes 19 which lead to suitable inlets 20 carried by the central portions of the wings.

When the aeroplane develops engine trouble or the like, it is merely necessary to open the control valve V to permit the gas to flow from the tank 17 into the wings 10,

plane to rise vertically when the engine stops through any cause, which will enhance the commercial possibilities of aeroplanes formable rigi Changes in details may be made without departing-from the spirit or scope of the invention;

What I claim as new is:

A normally heavier-than-air aeroplane including a fuselage equipped with propelling means and having steering and landing devices, hollow as tight wings of non-ded form rigid with and projecting laterally from opposite sides of the fuselage, a tank carried by the fuselage and adapted to contain suificient lighter-than air gas under pressure to fill the wings, conduit means to convey the gas from the tank into the wings, and means to normally prevent flow of the gas from the tank, said last named means being operable at the will of the driver to'allow the gas to flow from the tank into the wings for rendering the latter lighter-than-air, whereby the aeroplane may be temporarily converted into a substantially lighter-than-air craft for permit-ting a safe landing in an emergency.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

EDWARD FRANK MERRITT. 

